They were the first British band that successfully fused American music with gritty Brit R&R. Country, Gospel, R&B, Pop, and Chicago Blues all done with a British swagger.

Rolling Stones = Greasy Rock.

Country was such a small piece of the puzzle. You focusing on it re-enforces the fact that you simply don't understand it. **** off.

Church

The Rolling Stones made better Americana than Townes Van Zandt.

Chula - just no. That’s so ****ing wrong.

I love a lot of what they did. I just didn't like those four albums you're talking about cause they felt like skin deep experimentations with country. But please tell me more about their press releases that you masturbated to.

The funny thing is even though Chula is right about how great those records are your comments express a better understanding of what those records are.

It reminds me of the LZ and the blues conversation.

How the **** can you love something so much and still not ****ing get it?

Honestly I think the Rolling Stones were just having a bit of fun with country and not trying to truly experiment. They never sounded like they were taking their flirtations with the genre at all seriously. That's all well and good I suppose but it had the effect of boring the snot out of me. I was too high on Townes and Willie to settle for tourists. Maybe I'll change my opinion at some point.

I love that Devo cover to absolute bits and it's a brilliant song that almost no one can touch, unless its the Rolling Stones playing the original. That **** is just massive and raucous and all the catchy.

As far as their early stuff goes I agree. 50s rock n roll was perfected by those early British R&B bands and the Stones were the height. The Animals and Small Faces made amazing **** that eclipsed Berry, Presley, and Richard, but the Stones absolutely nailed the core of rock n roll to an extent that's been touched by the Sonics and the Stooges but never been potentially bettered without adding extra influences.

I wouldn’t describe it as experimental. It’s the way that Americana became such a cornerstone of their essence. From Let It Bleed until like Some Girls country music took a large chunk of the DNA even from songs that didn’t sound country. It’s just in there, like the blues.

It still sounds like frat boys having fun with country to me.

I like The Stones well enough. I have maybe 30 songs or so.

To me, the thing that sucks about the Stones is, they're awful live.

They've always played loose, but live? They're downright sloppy.

Also live, Mick & Keef sing in harmonies unknown to man.